Confirming Soy Allergy

April 1, 2011

After Joseph ate his birthday cake, he had some diarrhea. I went over the ingredients in the cake to see what could have caused it (if it wasn’t just a bug he had) and realized that the cooking spray and the chocolate chips both contained soy. Chocolate and eggs were also both new to him, so I gave him both of those again and they didn’t cause a reaction. So, I gave him soy milk. His eczema grew and he once again had diarrhea.

That’s 3 of the 8 major allergies that Joseph has, and I haven’t even tried nuts yet. At least I do have hopes for nuts, as he’s licked Rachel’s peanut butter topped apples that she leaves around, and hasn’t had a reaction. That will be one of the things I try next.

Of course, going soy-free makes my life even harder. At first glance, it doesn’t seem that hard, but then you realize that my major butter substitute – shortening – is made of soy. Regular vegetable oil is soybean oil. Out of all the cooking sprays, only one (PAM for grilling) doesn’t have soy. Soy lecithin is in a lot of products (and is probably the main reason I have never gotten his eczema to completely disappear behind his knees). One thing is for sure – Enjoy Life is about to become my favorite brand. They make their foods free of all 8 major allergens – and when they mean free, they don’t just mean not on the ingredient list, but make sure their factories are non-contaminated. Now I just need to find a place that sells their chocolate chips.

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Soy is in so much so few of us expect. The thing I battle with most is finding decent quality soy free chocolate here in Australia. I find Amedei to be really good (albeit expensive) and they make a range of couverture products including chocolate drops and bars. Some really classy restaurants use their products, all free from soy. Theo is another good brand over in the States and their products are very reasonably priced for what they are. I believe you can find their products at Whole Foods or order online.

Soy Free Sales is another good option. They sell some of the best chocolate in the world.

So PAM for grilling over your way is soy free? I live in Australia and find just about all the cooking sprays contain soy lecithin. Though I was recently informed by someone on my page that Sam’s Club Canola Oil Spray (Bakers and Chefs) is also soy free and works really well, much better than others (especially PAM). I’m one of the admin for Soy Allergy Network page on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/SoyAllergy

Yes, out of all Joseph’s allergies, soy is the one I’ve found the least amount of information on, and the least number of products that cater to people with that allergy. Dairy free chocolate is already hard to find. Add soy to the mix, and almost everything is out.

Yes, PAM for grilling is made with cottonseed oil, and is the only PAM spray that doesn’t have the warning “Contains: Soy” on it. Thanks for the info on the Canola Oil spray. I may buy my own spray bottle to fill with my own canola oil though.